GM & COURSE UPDATE
Steve Brown Acting General Manager
Dear Member,
Welcome to the first members newsletter of 2025. It is a time of new beginnings as the golfing season creeps towards us.
As I’m sure you are all aware, Ian McDowell has left Aldwickbury Park for a new challenge. We all wish him well in his new role, as well as his new personal role as a father.
I thank Ian for his final contributions to the newsletter as I take over the interim role as your Acting General Manager. I look forward to meeting those of you that I haven’t already met, and will, of course, keep you updated with the ongoing progress in appointing Ian’s full-time successor.
Craig Betts Course Manager
COURSE UPDATES:
Well, here is my first members newsletter of 2025, I hope you all had a great Christmas and here’s to a successful 2025 at Aldwickbury Park.
December finished with a mixed bag in terms of weather, with over 112mm of rain, mild temperatures and a couple of cold snaps for good measure. That said, the course has held up well allowing us to remain open as much as possible. Thank you to all the members who have stuck to the post and roped areas and to those who have carried their clubs. This will all help to reduce the traffic damage around the course and ensure we have a greater chance of recovery come the spring.
Greens have remained in good condition and kept diseases at bay with all the preventive measures in place. We had our soil testing done on the greens at the back end of October. Despite the wet weather during the main playing season, with sustained growth, we have still kept our organic matter low, reduced our nitrogen inputs, and upped our usage of topdressing by 20 tonnes to keep the greens performing as well as possible.
All main playing areas on the course have been aerified with either the procore, air2g2, or tractor mounted verti-drain. Aeration work didn’t take place on the fairways, as this had to be cancelled due to the incoming weather, and has been rescheduled for late January/February.
We have been busy with tree work again on the course, raising canopies and low branches to tackle areas around the 1st and 6th, and we will continue this work around the course over the next few weeks. We have also tidied up around the 6th and the 7th to remove a lot of deadwood and brash to open up the area and get more airflow.
We have been very proactive with getting all long grass/rough areas flailed back and cut down to open up areas. This means when these areas come back in the spring/summer, we should see a reduction in coarse grasses increasing the playability.
We have now re-opened all the newly refurbished bunkers that were completed by Countrywide Contractors, and we’re very pleased with how these have settled and grown. I am currently in the process of finalising a list of bunkers to be drawn up for the next phase of bunker works. There are a few bunkers that are still GUR, and these will be either removed or brought back into play in the next few weeks.
Lastly, I want to say a massive thank you to Ian, the General Manager, who
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COURSE & CAPTAIN’S UPDATE
is moving on to a new job at Porters Park Golf Club. Thank you for all the help, advice and support you have given to me as a course manager, it has been a brilliant and highly successful eight years working together, and I wish you all the best in the new role.
As always, if you see me on the course and want clarification of anything on the course, then feel free to stop me for a chat.
Regards,
Craig
Carl Lawson Club Captain
A MESSAGE FROM THE CAPTAIN
Welcome to the final newsletter of my captaincy year. My goodness how quickly 2024 went by! I trust you all enjoyed a happy and healthy holiday period with family and friends.
My first task must be to offer our many congratulations to Ian McDowell and his fiancé on the birth of their first child, a son, Kian, who was born just before Christmas. What great news! Ian will be joining us after the Captains’ Drive out (Sat 25th Jan) so that we can present him with a gift and say a club farewell to him from a good number of members.
COMPETITIONS
Although I am writing this piece in January, I need to go back to September to report on the remaining competitions and events of the year. The first of these is the Summer League Bowl. The top 13 teams contested the final, with the best two individual stableford scores from a team of three countings. Team ‘Mumford and Sons’ (Scott Mumford, Gareth McNeill and Matt Warren) came out on top with a
great score of 77pts.
Unfortunately, Scott couldn’t make the photo, taken on Champions Day.
During September the Gents and Mixed summer competitions were completed and last year’s winners were as follows:
The Gents Div 1 Knockout was won by Corin Superfine, who beat Michael Van Wyk in the final.
The Gents Div 2 Knockout was won by John Taylor, who beat Ed Wilkinson in the final.
The Pegasus Trophy, awarded to the winner of a match between the Div 1 and 2 winners, was won by John Taylor.
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The Gents 4BBB Knockout was won by Gareth NcNeill and Robert Botha, who beat Terry Lansdowne and Ed Wilkinson in the final.
The Summer Mixed Greensomes was won by John Taylor and Sheila Bradbury, who beat Aaron Ewing and Leah Fitzgerald in the final.
CAPTAIN’S UPDATE
The Family Foursomes was won by John and Ryan Neary, who beat Linda Reeve and Elaine Meagher in the final.
The 9 Hole Series was won by Ed Wilkinson with a fine average of 21.6 for his best 5 scores.
We move on to October and a fine day meant that conditions were excellent for the Autumn Cup and scoring certainly bore this out. An incredible 49 points for a 4BBB stableford, saw Corin Superfine and Paul Beecher lift the trophy 3 pts clear of 2nd place.
The clocks had gone back, November arrived, and we were playing for the Fox Hunter Trophy once again. Notable for the unusual ‘medalford’ format (gross score, minus handicap, minus stableford points) where a net level par round results in a medalford score of 36. Conditions are always challenging with the leaves and rough at this time of year. Fortunately, the weather was kind and so the scoring was
excellent. A fine three under handicap round by Andrew Simpkin produced a score of 30 to win the last honours board competition of the year.
The next weekend saw the first playing of our Champions Day, when the winners of our honours board competitions across the club competed in a round of golf, followed by the presentation of trophies and recognition of team successes and competition holes in one. The weather was kind again and Robert Botha was our first Champion of Champions with a stableford score of 40pts.
Feedback on the day was that it was an
improvement on Awards Night and that we should extend entry to all section competition winners.
The next day (Sunday) saw the playing of our Daily Mail Foursomes qualifying event. A small field of mainly single-figure handicap players competed in this unforgiving format of play. Three pairs tied on 35pts, with Aaron Ewing and Michael Van Wyk just edging first place on count back.
Early December always brings our last fun team event of the year the Turkey Trot Unfortunately, this coincided with the arrival of Storm Darragh which brought very strong winds and heavy rain. The competition was cancelled.
JUNIORS
We have a number of active juniors who are members on the Park (18 hole) course and I am keen to encourage their development and play in competitive events.
The first step as always is to obtain handicaps and we started this by marking cards during the October half-term. This will continue this year so that we can reintroduce some junior competitions during the spring and summer.
CLUB AND COURSE NOTES
Check-in before you play
I have been ask to remind all players that they need to check in with the pro-shop before playing so that the club/starter are aware who is on the course and how busy it is.
Preferred Lies
We have reached that time of year when conditions for a ball landing in the General Area (but not on the closely mown area where relief is allowed) can be extremely difficult, making playing the game a lottery. This is not always clear cut and conditions of course can change.
For this reason, it is timely to remind swindle and competition organisers that they can decide when to use the additional winter relief of ‘Preferred Lies in the General Area’. Decisions should consider the need to make a fairer test of golf, balanced against the fact that the ball is not on a closely mown area.
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CAPTAIN’S UPDATE
If a decision is made to extend relief to the General Area, swindle and competition organisers must communicate to all players before they play so that everyone is clear the rules they are playing to and, therefore, whether the round is ‘acceptable for handicap’ or not.
Frost
We all know that frost builds up on the sole of our shoes in the cold weather. Please ensure that you knock the build-up of frost off your golf shoes before you go on to each green. This will prevent you from damaging the playing surface and the need for players following from having to remove chunks of ice left around the hole. Thank you for your cooperation.
Manor Course
Hopefully you will have seen the note detailing the official rating of our Par 3 (Manor) course. This means you can now play 9 or 18 holes for handicap purposes by submitting a card in the normal way. When signing in use the course tees Manor Ladies Blue 9/18 or Manor Gents Blue 9/18.
UPCOMING EVENTS
• Captain’s Drive In on Saturday 1st February. This is a Team Stableford and again is open to all members to enter. Please sign-up to join Gareth McNeill, Helen Greensmith and Glen Rootman drive in as your new captains.
HERTFORDSHIRE GOLF UNION
A full list of county events for 2025 can be found at the link below: https://www.hertfordshiregolf.org/fixtures/
AND FINALLY…
As I look back on my year it is one that I have enjoyed immensely. It has been an honour to represent the club at various events and a real pleasure to join in with the many swindles at our club and get to know more of you.
There is of course ‘more to do’ as a Club and Gents Section Captain. However, I have been greatly supported by the volunteer committee members and amazing staff who work at the club. I am grateful to you all.
Fundraising is always a big part of our club’s year and I am pleased to say that Mike Tozer and I will be presenting a cheque to Macmillan Cancer Support for £25,620.24 at our AGM. This is a fantastic total and we thank you all for your generous support. This contribution became even more significant to me in November when a family member was diagnosed with breast cancer. Fortunately, it is treatable, but the journey ahead is a long one. The resources available from Macmillan have been invaluable.
On Charity Day I had the winning bid on ‘a putting lesson from Ken Brown’. We arranged this in October, and it was a great experience. I got to hear lots about the early days of our course, when the holes were designed and his thoughts on how they could be played. Oh yes, I did get to do some putting tips and yes, it did make a difference! We are very lucky to have Ken’s enthusiastic support and interest in the club and I am grateful he was able to share his time and talent to support our fundraising.
As we start 2025, I am sure we are all looking forward to warmer days and the golfing year ahead. This is a significant year for the club; it will be 30 years since the club opened in June. As our new captains come into post there is much to look forward to and so it remains for me to wish our new captains Gareth McNeill, Helen Greensmith and Glen Rootman the very best for their year ahead. I am sure you will support them as you have me and they will have a great year.
Carl Lawson Club and Gent Section Captain 2024
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ALDWICKS CAPTAIN’S UPDATE
Mike Tozer Aldwicks Senior’s Captain
A MESSAGE FROM THE ALDWICKS CAPTAIN
Whilst writing this newsletter the end of my year as the Aldwicks Captain has come and gone. I have so enjoyed the experience, and it has been a privilege to have been granted the opportunity to serve as your captain.
I have had the good fortune to meet so many interesting and diverse people during my captaincy year and I would recommend anyone thinking about taking up the role to do so, as it is extremely rewarding.
The year seems to have flown by, and we have had a lot of very successful events and matches, many of which I have had the honour of participating in.
Can I just remind senior members that the Aldwicks events are open to any members over 55 and you can join simply by booking yourself in using HDID or through the pro-shop.
If you want more information as to how you can join in the senior’s organised events, please contact me: Mike Tozer, 07714721054 or mtozer@vortexdesigns.co.uk
WHAT’S BEEN HAPPENING
Aldwicks Captain’s Charity
Having nominated Macmillan Cancer Support as our chosen charity for 2024, I’m pleased to report we have had a phenomenal year of generosity from our Aldwicks Section.
Our fund-raising efforts on the Captain’s Charity Day raised £14,083 and I must pay a special thanks to Peter Timms and Pat Hayward for their significant
generosity through their associations with trusts and benefactors.
Christmas Golf and Lunch Day
I am pleased to report we had 64 people playing in the competition and 82 people sitting down to lunch, which included several non-member guests.
Although the day was cold, this did not detract from the usual generosity of those attending, and we managed to raise £870 on the day for APGC staff gratuities. This will be added to the overall amount from the other sections and will be apportioned out by Miranda to the staff.
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ALDWICKS CAPTAIN’S UPDATE
ALDWICKS MATCHES AGAINST OTHER CLUBS:
Aldwickbury Park GC is a very popular venue for our visiting club matches, and it is nice to receive complementary comments about the course, the facilities, catering and the friendliness of our club.
The match results against other clubs have been mixed but they have been enjoyed by all who attend:
Match Results:
S Beds (h) w 7/1
Whitehills (h) w 6/0
Hartsbourne (h) w 5/1
The Shire (a) w 4/2
Whitehills (a) w 3.5/2.5
The Shire (h) L 2.5/3.5
Panshanger (h) w 4/2
Aldenham (h) D 3/3
COMPETITION RESULTS:
Peter Ashe Pairs, 1st Pete Laurence and Steve Mummery, 2nd Mike Howells and Mike Childs
Memorial Trophy 75+, 1st John Russell, 2nd Tom Walters
Railes Cup, 1st Kevin Trehy and Len Fellowes, 2nd Lee Edwards and Andy Wyatt
June Medal, Div 1 Axel Flaig, Div 2 Peter Tonathy
July Medal, Div 1 John Russell, Div 2 Peter Tonathy
Aug Medal, Div 1 Brian Aris, Div 2 Darrell Martin
Sept Medal, Div 1 Corin Superfine, Div 2 Paul Bullock
Oct Stableford Div 1 Pat O’Higgins, Div 2 Dave Habershon
Nov Stableford, Div 1 Robert Harper, Div 2 Peter Tonathy
Dec Stableford, Div 1 Pat O’Higgins, Div 2 Andy Wyatt
HARPENDEN SENIOR
CHAMPIONSHIP
Aldwickbury Park GC were runners-up in the
Harpenden Seniors Team Championship which was hosted and played at Harpenden GC. This was a terrific effort to finish 2nd behind the hosts (Hammonds End) in the team event.
Burhill Trophy. “Aldwickbury Park GC won again”
I’m pleased to report the Aldwicks retained the Burhill Trophy which was hosted and played at Redbourn GC. The team consisted of Trevor Pyne, Eric Diment, John Rowlands, Pete Laurence, Andy Wyatt, Corin Superfine, Axel Flaig, Peter Creighton, Dave Habershon, Kevin Trehy, Harry Bech, and John Clapham.
NEW CAPTAIN FOR 2025
Finally, we will soon be electing Glen Rootman as the new Aldwicks Captain for 2025.
Over the last few months, Glen has stepped in as a brilliant Vice Captain and has already demonstrated great energy and enthusiasm for the role.
Now that we have the Aldwicks Section administration running so well, with the additional support of a marvellous committee, we are looking to recruit a Vice Captain.
So, if anyone is interested in considering the role please contact Glen. I wish Glen all the best for the coming year and know he will have as much support and fun as I had in 2024.
Thank you all once again for your support.
Kind Regards
Mike Tozer
Aldwicks Senior’s Captain
LADIES UPDATE AW24
LADY CAPTAIN’S DAY TROPHY
This prestigious cup was played without a lady captain for the second year running. The winner on the day was Naz Ball with 39 points, on countback from Elaine Meagher.
CLGL RYDER CUP FINAL
Although we didn’t win the league, we hosted this event with 64 ladies from eight different clubs. The format is a mixture of greensomes, foursomes, 4BBB and singles. The weather was wet, and conditions very difficult. However, despite all that APGC were the victors, winning the trophy for the second year running. Chartridge Park were runners-up. The overall winner of the Chiltern League was Chiltern Forest.
DAILY MAIL FOURSOMES QUALIFIER
This event comes around very quickly. The winners
of the DMF qualifier were Elaine and Linda for the second year running. Let’s hope they have as good a run as in 2024.
AUTUMN CUP
Organised by Caroline Leith the weekend ladies took part in this cup played as a medal round. The winner with a nett score of 71 was Elaine Meagher and Linda Reeve running up with a nett score of 72.
SCRATCH FINALS
What a successful year the ladies section has had in 2024. Scratch A came top in Division One (B), and Scratch B was top in Division Four (B). The final was held at Essendon CC on October 19th, whereby the respective divisions playoff to win overall in that division and, in the case of Division 1, the
overall champions.
Unusually, both of our teams played East Herts GC A and B teams. Unfortunately, Scratch A missed out on winning the overall prize by one extra hole. They were very disappointed on the day, but they have been in the topflight for the past five years, so they should be proud of their achievements. Scratch B won their playoff by beating East Herts 5:0 helped by the fact that they couldn’t field a full team! They are now promoted to Division 3.
GOLD, SILVER & TIN CUPS
Three competitions on one day. The Gold Cup was won by Julia Bashford with 37 points, and runnerup Jenny Maxwell with 37 points. The Silver Cup was won by Penny Fairweather with 31 points, and runnerup Dale Wood with 30 points. The Tin Cup was won by Trish Wyatt with 26 points, runner up Jan Cookson with 25 points. Maggie Cartmell provided some small prizes for the Tin Cup winners.
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ALDWICKS VS. LADIES SINGLES
The annual event took place in good spirits, albeit the Aldwicks were complaining they had to play off the white tees. However, they had no cause to complain as they beat the ladies for the first time in a long time.
LADIES SOLHEIM CUP
This used to be the Lady Captain v Lady Vice Captain. We thought it should still be played, but under a different guise, so this is the second year it’s taken place. Last year, the USA beat the Europeans by one point. This year, the Europeans beat the USA by one point. The game was played in good spirit with a combination of greensomes, 4BBB and individual formats with the scores added together.
CHRISTMAS LUNCH
On a reasonable day in December, a small number of us played the annual 9-hole comp with
LADIES & EVENTS UPDATE
a lunch afterwards. Although disappointing in the number of ladies playing, the lunch was attended by a good mix of ex-members, potentially new members and existing ones. The winners of the front nine with a score of 35 were Helen Greensmith, Penny Fairweather, Margaret Benson and Jacquie Farley. The winners of the back nine with a score of 32 were Pauline Anderson, Kay Buzzacott, Alison Gardner and Tricia Wyatt.
By the time this newsletter comes out, Christmas 2024 will be but a distant memory. However, the Ladies Committee wish everybody a very happy new year, and let’s hope to build on our successes of 2024.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
Thank
ALDWICKBURY PARK GOLF CLUB Piggottshill